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Hellinger Awards honor Gionet, Bush, Clark and McMahon

Oct 17, 2013 |

St. Bonaventure University hosted the 53rd annual Mark Hellinger Awards on Oct. 9 at Holiday Valley Resort, honoring the top students in St. Bonaventure University's journalism program.

The ceremony recognized Maddie Gionet, a graduate student in the Integrated Marketing Communications Program. Gionet graduated from St. Bonaventure with an undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communication this past May and received the Dr. Mary A. Hamilton Woman of Promise Award in the spring of 2013.

As an undergraduate student, Gionet held various leadership positions on campus with The Intrepid, the American Advertising Federation class and club, Mt. Irenaeus, the Peer Coaching Program, the Teaching and Learning Center’s Writing Lab and the All Bonaventure Reads Committee.

Along with her leadership positions, Gionet had the opportunity to write for the Russell J. Jandoli School’s magazine, The Communicator, and the university’s summer 2012 edition of the Bonaventure magazine.

Danny Bush, of Belfast, N.Y., was runner-up for the award. He graduated from the Jandoli School in May with Latin honors and received the 6th Annual Tim Russert “Medal of Merit” Award from the Buffalo Broadcasters Association.

During Bush’s sophomore year, he won a university-sponsored commercial production contest, which is still televised to promote the university. He was the production director at nationally ranked WSBU-FM The Buzz, 88.3 and reported for SBU-TV News.

Bush wrote and produced a documentary on the history of the Underground Railroad in the Southern Tier as his capstone project and aims to seek grant funding to expand the series. Currently, he works as a multimedia producer at St. Bonaventure, where he is also pursuing his Master’s degree in the Integrated Marketing Communications program.

Bryan Clark, winner of the Buffalo News Entrepreneurial Reporting Award, joined WSBU 88.3 FM The Buzz as a news director. He received honors such as “Department of the Semester” and “Staff of the Semester” for his service and dedication.

Clark interned with the sports information department at St. Bonaventure, writing games previews and press releases, assisting on press row during men’s and women’s basketball games and serving as the public address announcer for lacrosse and baseball games.

He works part-time in the public relations and sports information departments at Alfred University and produces content for his blog, Captain Clarky.

Kristan McMahon, ’97, was honored as the Alumnus of the Year. She is counsel-antitrust for Verizon. Her practice focuses on government merger work, litigation and antitrust training for the Verizon entities.

Prior to joining Verizon in 2006, McMahon was staff attorney at Howrey, LLP, focusing on antitrust litigation and government merger work. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar.

McMahon received her juris doctorate from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 2000, and earned a certificate from its Telecommunications Law Institute. She graduated magna cum laude from St. Bonaventure with bachelor's degrees in journalism and mass communication and political science. She is the vice president of St. Bonaventure’s National Alumni Association Board.

Keynote speaker for the Award ceremony, David Yaun, ’85, is vice president of Global Industries Marketing and Communications at IBM. Yaun leads IBM’s global marketing programs targeting clients in 18 major industry segments worldwide, as well as account-focused marketing programs targeting IBM’s top 275 clients.

Yaun is a member of IBM’s marketing and communications leadership team and serves on the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology.

Prior to his current role, Yaun spent five years as IBM’s lead executive responsible for conceiving and implementing a broad range of global collaborative innovation programs. He also worked at Sony Electronics Inc. and several New York-based public relations agencies, including Edelman Public Relations, Connors Communications, and Technology Solutions.
In 2008, he was named to the Research Advisory Council for the Business Innovation Factory. Yaun's work is featured in the book “The Responsibility Revolution,” by Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. We are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition. Our students are becoming extraordinary.